Thread holder for weft replenishing looms



Aug. 2, 1938. R. G. TURNER 2,125,653

THREAD HOLDER FOR WE FT REPLENISHING LOOMS .Filed April l2, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l lnvento Richard G. Turner ALA/Pkg A the r ney Aug.2,1938. v G. TURNER I 2,125,658

THREAD HOLDER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed April 12, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Richard Glurnev Attorney Patented Aug. 2, 1938UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD HOLDER FOR WEFT REPLENISH- ING LOOMSApplication April 12, 1937, Serial No. 136,331

15 Claims. (Cl. 139247) This invention relates to improvements in threadholders for Weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of theinvention to provide a thread holder capable of taking up the 5 slack ofweft ends and maintaining them taut.

In weft replenishing looms it is customary to store a number of reservebobbins from each of which extends a weft end. The ends are held to somepart of the loom so that the shuttle may 1 be threaded during the pickfollowing transfer.

In the multi-color type ofloom the reserve bobbins are held in aplurality of vertical stacks and feed downwardly by gravity towardtransfer position. At each transfer the group of reserve 15 bobbins fromwhich the transfer is made falls and slackening of the weft end results.Unless the ends are held taut they will fall into the path of the layand be broken, rendering threading of the shuttle impossible. It is animportant object of my present invention to take up the slack by meansof a thread holder including in its construction a large number ofseparate elements between which the threads can extend, said threadsbeing held by frictional contact with the elements.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide means forturning the container for the elements so that the latter shift theirrelative positions and in doing so entangle the weft ends and move thelatter in such a way as to keep them taut.

It is a more particular object of my present invention to provide aholder for a group of shot or the like, the holder being formed with athread receiving slot which is narrower than the diameter of the shot. Imake provision for turning the shot holder in a direction to cause atumbling or pouring action of the shot, the turning being set forthhereinafter as continuing constantly throughout loom operation, althoughI do not wish to be limited to this mode of operating the holder. Duringthe tumbling of the shot they are caused to fall repeatedly and in doingso bury parts of the weft ends under the shot, movement of a part of agroup of shot away from the magazine serving to drag the Weft ends byfriction in a direction to tighten them. When taut the threads can sliprelatively to the shot to avoid breakage. 50 Although the threadreceiving slot of the holder is comparatively narrow, yet the threadslocated within the holder spread out due to the fact that the shottumble in directions having a horizontal component and in doing soentrap the threads and move them toward the sides of the holder and awayfrom the plane of the slot. Because of this action the capacity of theholder is enlarged, and the threads are prevented from matting together.

Many thread holders as heretofore constructed have been so made as torender diflicult or inconvenient the clearing of cut weft ends. In orderto facilitate removal of the. weft ends it is another object of myinvention to provide a thread holder having a thread slot extendingthere-across so that a thread can pass from the top down through theholder and pass out the bottom of the slot to free itself from the shotor the like located in the shot holder. I have found that a holder madeas set forth hereinafter has a tendency to clear itself of threads whichhave free ends, the turning or pouring of the shot facilitating thedownward passage of such threads so that they ultimately reach the lowerend of the slot.

While I have found that my thread holder works to best advantage whenthe shot are poured in a direction toward the magazine, yet beneficialresults can be had by pouring the shot away from the magazine and I haveset forth hereinafter forms of the invention which show the shot beingpoured in both directions.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one end of a weft replenishing loomhaving the preferred form of my improved thread holder applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an end view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 taken'in thedirection of arrow 2,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an inside view of the driven bell shown in Fig. 4,

Figs. 6 and '7 are diagrammatic views showing the relation of the threadand shot in the preferred form of the invention,

Figs. 8 and 9 are viewed similar to Figs. 6 and 7 but showing the massof shot being rotated in the opposite direction in a modification of theinvention, and

Fig. 10 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 2 showing means fordriving the bells so that the shot turn in a direction opposite to thatin which they turn in the preferred form.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shuttle S to bereplenished by the reserve bobbin B in the magazine M supported by thebreast beam 22. The magazine may be of the usual type and a plurality ofweft ends W extend outwardly from the tip ends of the bobbins toward theright, as viewed in Fig. 1. During operation of the loom the bobbinswill descend toward transfer position and the weft ends will becomeslack as they more nearly approach a horizontal line. This slackness islikely to interfere with proper threading of the shuttle after transfer,particularly if the threads are slack enough to be broken by the lay asthe latter swings back and forth. The matter thus far described is ofcommon construction to be found in the commercial type of multi-colorweft replenishing loom which operates with a top shaft 25 turning in thedirection of a, Fig. 2.

In carrying my present invention into effect I secure a support arm tothe loom frame 20 and extend the same outwardly to have attached theretothe upright 3| of a plate or support base 32. The latter has at itsright extremity as shown in Fig. 1 a thread post 33 the upper end ofwhich is arranged to have the weft ends W tied to or wrappedtherearound.

The plate 32 has frontand back bearing standards 35 and 36,respectively, which are spaced and have mounted thereon bells orcontainers for a plurality of shot. I set forth hereinafter thedifferent ways of utilizing this shot to take up the slack in the weftends W.

In the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 6 and 7 the frontupright bearing 35 has secured therein a stud 31 to the rear end ofwhich is secured a hollow bell 38 of the general form suggested in Figs.2 and 3. The stud 31 passes into the front bell and is held in place bya nut 39.

The rear bell 40 is similar to the front bell and is secured by a nut 4|to a stub shaft 42 passing through the rear bearing 36. A shoulder 43spaces the rear bell from the rear bearing, while a set screw 44 in thefront bearing spaces the front bell from the rear one to define a threadslot 5| adjustable as to width. By the proportion of the parts alreadydescribed the opposing rims 45 and 46 of the front and back bells 38 and40, respectively, are held so that the width of slot 5| is less than thediameter of the shot 50, a considerable number of which is locatedwithin the two bells.

As shown in Fig. 2 the top shaft 25 of the loom carries a worm meshingwith a worm gear 56 rotatable with a. short shaft 5'! journaled in ahousing 58 supported by the shaft. A forwardly extending rod 50 has arear universal joint connection 6| with the shaft 5'! and a forwarduniversal joint connection 62 with the stub shaft 42. During loomoperation the turning of the top shaft 25 causes a relatively slowturning of the worm gear 56 and in turn rotates the rear bell 40 in adirection so that the top of said bell moves toward the magazine, or inthe direction of arrow b,Fig. 1. r

The rotating bell 40 is provided with a series of vanes 10 which may beradial and preferably are spaced an appreciable distance from the slot5i so that the shot which these van'es'lift on one side of the axis ofthe container will be free to fall to the other side of the axis toestablish holding relation with the weft ends. The front holder 38 ispreferably not provided with the webs or vanes 10 and therefore offersno interference to the motion of the shot located within the front bell38. The lower vanes move certain of the shot positively in a directionaway from the magazine and the other shot are moved similarly byfrictional contact with the shot moved by the vanes and also byfrictional contact with the interior of the bell 4B. The use andoperation of the preferred form of my invention will be understood fromFigs. 3, 4, 6 and '7. When new bobbins are placed in the magazine theirweft ends W will be passed down through the thread slot 5| and willeither fall on shot within the container or actually be sunk into theshot by manipulation of the thread by the weaver.v As the loom runs thebell 40 will turn in the direction of arrow 0, Fig. 6, the shot at theright moving upwardly and being poured to the left, or toward themagazine. As the shot fall they cover the slack weft ends located withinthe holder and by their weight prevent escape of the threads. Thebeginning of such an operation is shown in Fig. 6, but as a thread iscaught by the shot and the latter continues to move the thread willassume the position shown in Fig. '7, the lower part of the mass of shotmoving from the left to the right in a direction away from the magazineand frictionally holding the thread to maintain the same taut. When thethreads are tight they have a slidingor slipping relation with respectto the shot as the latter move, thereby avoiding breakage. v V In .orderthat entry of the threads into the slot 5! may be facilitated I providea pair of guides 65 and 66 which may be mounted on front and backbearings 35 and 36, respectively, and have downwardly and approachingsurfaces leading to the slot 5|. These surfaces, as suggested in Fig. 2,serve to direct the threads from the reserve bobbins into the threadslot.

Fig. 3 illustrates some of the positions which may be taken by thethreads after the shot has been poured on them several times. It is theweight and motion of the shot in contact with the threads moving awayfrom the magazine or to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, which byfrictional contact with the threads tends to hold the latter taut.

As the shot fall they tend to deflect the threads toward the supports 35and 36 and away from the thread slot, as suggested in dotted lines inFig. 4. This spreading of the threads increases the capacity of thethread holder and also prevents the formation of bundles or knots ofthreads which would interfere with the clearing of the holder of reserveweft ends after transfer. It will be apparent from the lower part ofFig. 3 that should one of the weft ends entering the lower part of theslot 51 be cut subsequent to a transfer of the corresponding bobbin, itwould be free to fall and experience shows that in time this end willfall through the lower part of the slot 5|. By this action the threadholder automatically clears itself of threads which are no longer heldat their magazine end. If desired, the weaver may pull the cut ends downthrough the bottom of slot 5|, the shot moving laterally to permitpassage of the threads.

. In the modification of the invention provision is made for turning themass of shot in a direction so that they pour away from the magazine,this action being suggested in Figs. 8 and 9. I find under certainconditions that the shot moving as set forth in this modificationoperate quite satisfactorily to take up slack of the thread, since themass of shot at the left of the holder as viewed in Fig. 9, when movingtoward theright will drag the weft. ends W sufficiently to hold themtaut. The drive for the shot holder in the modification may besubstantially the same as that illustrated in Fig. 2 except the wormgear 89 is on the under side of the shaft 25 and thereby effects areversal of the direction of rotation I and keep them above the path ofthe lay. While I have shown means for rotating but one of the two bells,an arrangement which has proved satisfactory in actual practice evenwithout the vanes ll], yet I do not wish to be limited to thisparticular kind of drive.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided means forintroducing weft ends from a reserve supply of weft into a mass of shotor the like which by its rotation establishes frictional holding contactwith the threads. The threads are held by the weight of the shot whenthe loom is at rest, and when the loom is operat ing the mass of shotacts'by its motion to take up any slack which may occur either fromimproper unwinding of the thread from the reserve bobbins or by thedescent of the latter incident to transfer. It will further be seen thatalthough a considerable mass of matter is interposed between the top andbottom parts of the thread slot 5|, yet this mass is made up of a largenumber i of small individually moving parts through which the weft endsmay pass to clear the container and prevent undue accumulation ofthreads. It will also be seen by reference to Fig. 4 that the threadends are spread out by the action of the shot so that the latter areenabled to have a larger area of contact with the threads than would bethe case if the weft ends were confined to the plane of the slot 5|. Itwill further be understood that the mass of shot can be turned in eitherdirection and that the vanes 10 assist in lifting the shot and movingthem around the axis of the container. I have found in actual practicethat the rotation of a single bell which is internally smooth willsuffice to pour the shot from one side to the other of the axisestablished by the stud 31 and shaft 42, but I prefer to use the vanes.Figs. 2 and 10 also suggest continuous driving relation between the loomand the shot container, but I do not wish necessarily to be limited tosuch a drive.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom, an actuator moving during loomoperation, a magazine to hold reserve bobbins from which extend Weftthreads, means to hold the ends of the threads, a group of shot, andmeans moved by the actuator to cause the shot to fall on and hold theweft threads.

2. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, means tohold the ends of the threads, a shot holder, and a group of shot in theholder and in contact with each other and through which the weft threadsextend in frictional contact with the shot, the weft threads beingcapable of being drawn through the group for the purpose of tighteningsaid threads and the shot holding the weft threads.

3. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, means tohold the ends of the threads, a shot holder, and a group of separateindividual elements in the holder and in contact witheach other and theweft threads which pass through the group, the elements above the weftthreads holding the latter on the elements below the weft threads, theelements having friction contact with the weft threads to permit thelatter to be drawn through the group to tighten said weft threads andthereafter holding said weft threads.

4. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, means tohold the ends of the threads, a group of separate individually movableelements in frictional contact with the weft threads which extendthrough -the group, and means to move the elements in a direction todraw the weft threads away from the reserve bobbins.

5. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine to hold reserve bobbins fromwhich extend weft threads, means to hold the ends of the threads, agroup of shot through which the weft threads extend to have frictionalcontact therewith, and means to move the shot along a path having acomponent away from the magazine.

6. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine to hold reserve bobbins fromwhich extend weft threads, means tohold the ends of the threads, a groupof shot through which the weft threads extend, and means to cause theshot to move while in contact with the weft threads along a path part ofwhich leads away from the magazine and toward the first means to take.up slack in the weft threads.

7. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine to hold reserve bobbins fromwhich extend weft threads, means to hold the ends of the threads, agroup of shot, a housing for the shot into which the weft threadsextend, said housing located between the magazine and said means, andmeans to move the housing to cause the shot to fall on the weft threadsand move along a path leading away from the magazine to hold the weftthreads taut.

8. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine to hold reserve bobbins fromwhich extend weft threads, a hollow housing into which the weft threadsextend, a plurality of individually movable elements in said housing andsupported thereby, and means to move the housing in a direction to causethe elements to fall on the weft threads and move along a path in adirection to draw the weft threads away from the magazine.

9. In a thread holder for reserve bobbins from which extend weftthreads, a group of separate individual elements movable relatively toeach other and into which the weft threads pass, a support for saidelements, and means to move the support in a direction to cause theelements to fall toward the reserve bobbins and on the Weft threads.

10. In a thread holder for reserve bobbins from which extend weftthreads, a group of shot through which the weft threads extend, andmeans to pour the shot in a direction toward the reserve bobbins anddown on the weft threads.

11. In a thread holder forreserve bobbins from which extend weftthreads, a group of separate individual elements movable relatively toeach other, and means to cause movement of said elements in a directionaway from the reserve bobbins and down on the weft threads.

12. In a thread holder for reserve bobbins from which extend weftthreads, a group of shot between the reserve bobbins and said means andthrough which the'weft threads extend, a rotatable support for the shot,and means to turn the support in a direction to cause the shot to fallon the weft threads and in a direction away from the reserve bobbins. V

13. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, a hollowholder with a vertical slot passing downwardly therethrough, a group ofseparate individual elements'in the holder and among which pass the weftthreads extending through the slot, and means to move the holder in adirection to. move the elements in a direction away from the reservebobbins to draw the weftthreads taut, said weft threads being capable ofpassing down through the group of elements and out of the bottom of theslot to clear the holder.

14. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, a hollowholder between said means and the reserve bobbins and having a verticalslot passing downwardly therethrough, a group of separate individualelements in the holder and among which pass the weft threads extendingthrough the slot, and means to move the holder in a direction to movethe elements in a direction away from the reserve bobbins to draw theweft threads taut, said weft threads being capable of passing downthrough the group of elements'and out of the bottom of the slot to clearthe holder.

15. In a thread holder for the weft threads of reserve bobbins, a hollowholder with a vertical slot passing downwardly therethrough, a group ofseparate individual elements in the holder and among which pass the weftthreads extending through the slot, and means to move the holder in adirection to move the elements in a direction away from the reservebobbins to draw the weft threads taut, said weft threads being capableof passing down through the group of elements and out of the bobbin ofthe slot to clear the holder, certain of the vanes moving in a directionaway from the reserve bobbins to move the shot positively in a directionto tighten the weft threads.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

